Arizona Diamondbacks Rumors
The Arizona Diamondbacks have only been in the league since 1998, but have made their mark as one of the best expansion teams of all time, making the playoffs in three of their first five seasons and winning the World Series in only their fourth year in existence. The Diamondbacks play in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field.
After finishing in last place in their inaugural season of 1998, the Diamondbacks beefed up their team by adding some veterans in pitcher Randy Johnson and slugger Luis Gonzalez. Johnson would win the Cy Young Award an astounding four times in a row in his first four seasons with Arizona. The pair led the team to a 100-win season in 1999, though they lost in the NLDS to the Mets.
After missing the playoffs in 2000, the Diamondbacks shined in 2001. Having added veteran starter Curt Schilling the seasons before, they had the best one-two punches in baseball atop their rotation in Johnson and Schilling, and the two carried the team all the way to the World Series. In an epic battle with the New York Yankees, the Diamondbacks beat the three-time defending champs in seven games, which included a the Game 7 walk-off hit by Gonzalez in what is considered one of the best World Series games of all time. Johnson and Schilling took co-MVP honors of the 2001 World Series.
The Diamondbacks have made the playoffs three times since then but have failed to get back to the World Series. But with an NL West Division title in 2011, a manager of the year in Kirk Gibson, and young stars like Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy, the Diamondbacks will try to recapture the magic and get back to the pinnacle of MLB success in the coming years.
